Today’s post, Beloved Patrons, is brought to you courtesy of jetlag, that delightful side-effect of hurtling the human body through multiple time zones at hundreds of miles per hour. Though that description does make returning home sound something like time-travel, which sounds like fun, the actual result is that one knows neither if they are coming or going. What I do know for sure is that there are new books on our shelves, and a long weekend coming up in which to enjoy them, and it is marvelous to be home and see all of you, and all of the lovely books once again.
Just a reminder that the library will be closed over the Labor Day Weekend, so come in on Friday to pick up your books, and we will see you again on Tuesday, September 8. The Free-For-All will still be up and running, as ever, though, because we have no idea what time it is, and can’t stop talking about books.
All Together Now: Gil Hornby’s second novel is a surprisingly fun, quirky little book about a group of lost souls who take part in a local chorus, and dare to fulfill their dreams of a region championship. Though the premise sounds a little fluffy, this book is disarmingly honest, reveling in its characters faults and foibles, making their interactions, and their singing, something that sticks with you. RT Book Reviews loved this one, calling it “a funny underdog tale that is transporting and yet honest. Best of all, this unique and surprisingly meaningful tale unfolds alongside a soundtrack that is sure to leave readers with a song in their hearts.”
Walking With Abel: Journalist Anna Badkhen built her career on her willingness to travel to the most remote, extreme places on the globe, and in this book, she documents her time with a family of nomadic herders in the Mali grasslands, known as Fulani cowboys. For the armchair explorer, this book is full of stunning descriptions of the African wilderness, from the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. For those who savor the human connections that such adventures bring, Badkhen’s experiences within the family that has adopted her are completely fascinating, and their bond surprisingly touching. The Christian Science Monitor raved, “By the time readers put the book down, they will have done something remarkable: visited a mostly inhospitable but eminently seductive locale alongside a storyteller able to render the strange and different both familiar and engrossing.”
Rose Water And Orange Blossoms: Fresh & Classic Recipes From My Lebanese Kitchen: For those who prefer their adventures to be of the culinary variety, we also have Maureen Abood’s delightful new release, featuring the sumptuous flavors of her childhood. Along with these delicious, and surprisingly easy, recipes are stories and anecdotes about growing up in a Lebanese-American family, and the journey that Abood herself took to become the award-winning chef she is today.
The Drafter: Fans who are aching for a new fix after the conclusion of Kim Harrison’s epic Hallows series will rejoice at the launch of her new series featuring renegade Peri Reed. The year is 2030, and Peri is a Drafter, a skilled operative able to manipulate time, but cursed to forget every change that she has ever made. But when she finds her name on a list of corrupted employees, Peri realizes that she, and her history, are being targeted by those in power–but to what ends? The New York Times had a sensational review of this Jason-Bourne-esque thriller, calling Harrison’s writing “a smoldering combination of Alice Waters and Ozzy Osbourne.”
The Automated Aristocrats: Mark Hodder’s Burton and Swineburne novels are some of the most-well known and genre-defining steampunk novels out there today, and this sixth book brings this stupendous series to a rollicking close. Sir Richard Francis Burton (a real historical figure, whom Hodder has fictionalized in wonderful fashion) returns from the future with knowledge of all the technological marvels yet to come, but when one of his colleagues turns traitor, Burton and his sidekick Algernon Charles Swinburne (another historic figure reinvented for this series) are forced to watch the Empire topple around them. Now, leaders of a surviving group of revolutionaries, Burton and Swinburne must find a way to overthrow their automated overlords…at any cost. For those looking for a wildly inventive, imagination-bending series, start with The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, the first in this series, and enjoy Burton and Swinburne’s adventures right through to the end!